The present invention relates generally to machines for the formation of sandwich-type comestibles, and more particularly to the formation of ice cream sandwiches consisting of flat wafers having a layer of ice cream disposed between them. More particularly, the present invention relates to such machines as employ the assembly of the ice cream sandwich in the vertical direction.
The preparation of ice cream sandwiches and the corresponding equipment known for such preparation has existed for many years. Particularly, equipment that relies upon the vertical assembly of the ice cream sandwiches by the extrusion of the ice cream and the conjoint delivery of adjacent wafers thereto, followed by the vertically downward disposition of the formed ice cream sandwich into an index wheel for disposition onto a conveyor for wrapping, packaging and later operations, is all well-known. Representative U.S. patents illustrating the general operation of such equipment include U.S. Pat. No. 2,794,404 to Rapp, U.S. Pat. No. 3,316,860 to Peterson, U.S. Pat. No. 3,119,353 to Roehn, Jr., and U.S. Pat. No. 3,834,119 to Armitt et al. All of the above are incorporated herein by reference.
Each of the aforementioned disclosures generally relates to an extrusion-type ice cream sandwich making machine, which operates by the extrusion assembly of the ice cream sandwich, the disposition of the thus formed ice cream sandwich into an index wheel having a plurality of slots, and the indexed rotation of said wheel into position for removal of the sandwich and disposition onto a conveyor for further processing.
Through the years numerous modifications have been made to the equipment generally disclosed in the aforementioned patents, to improve efficiency and speed of operation, and to correspondingly reduce downtime caused by misfeeds and the like. Notwithstanding the efforts that have been applied in such connection, certain aspects of the equipment continue to represent time consumptive delays and inefficiencies in processing. These concerns are particularly acute as the industry seeks to manufacture an increasing variety of ice cream sandwich products, which products may vary in size, thickness, shape and other characteristics. Because of consumer demand, ice cream sandwich manufacturers may be obliged to increase the manufacture of a particular ice cream product having certain physical characteristics in precedence to the manufacture of an ice cream product having different characteristics. In such event, it may be necessary to have separate equipment in place and operational, that is dedicated to these products of different dimension.
More specifically, certain of the parts of the ice cream sandwich machine must be modified to account for differences in size and other characteristics of a given ice cream sandwich product. Thus, for example, such parts as the extruder die or nozzle, the inclined wafer trays or chutes that feed the cookies into position in the formation of the sandwich, the index wheel that receives the formed sandwich and transfers it to the conveyor, the conveyor that receives the sandwich and delivers it to the sandwich wrapping station, and the components of such wrapping station, such as the wrapping head, the tucker arms and even the apparatus for the delivery of the wrapping paper and the sizing of individual sheets for each sandwich product, must all be modified. In addition to these obvious modifications, there have to be corresponding adjustments in the timing of the apparatus so that each of the steps involved is carefully coordinated and properly sequenced.
Thus, for example, the delivery of the ice cream sandwich to the wrapping assembly or wrapping head must be coordinated with the delivery of the appropriately sized piece of wrapping material thereto, as well as the reciprocating movement of the elevator, tucker arms, and pusher, that all cooperate to wrap the ice cream sandwich for ultimate conveyance to a packaging line or the like. It can thereby been seen that the extensive modification to the machine to fit it for the operation with the assembly of a differently sized product is extensive. As a result, the traditional approach by ice cream sandwich manufacturers has been to have different machines each dedicated to a given size manufacture, so as to avoid the extensive refitting that would be necessary if a modification in size were attempted with the same equipment.
Also, while the industry has generally appreciated the ever present need for maximizing and maintaining sanitary conditions, the nature of traditional equipment fabricated and in use thus far is still such as to pose difficulties when cleaning is attempted. Most sandwich manufacturing machines are constructed about a conveyor that is in turn supported on both of its lateral edges. The sandwich assembling equipment is generally disposed above such a conveyor and is likewise supported between parallel vertical support members. The obvious benefits of such a construction are its sturdiness and corresponding reliability and precision in use; however, such construction must, by its characteristics, obstruct to some extent the working and moving parts of the equipment that inevitably become soiled in use. As a result, the cleaning of such equipment frequently involves the partial disassembly of many of the moving parts to facilitate the thorough cleaning mandated by governmental sanitation and Board of Health requirements.
Because of increasing manufacturing costs and fluctuations in product demand, it would be desirable to develop and use equipment that is capable of reduced downtime during cleaning, together with rapid modification to meet the needs of the manufacturing of differently sized sandwich products. It is to the satisfaction of both of the aforementioned objectives of the present invention is directed.